Dawn Elaine Overholser

Dawn Elaine Overholser, 73, of Milford, beloved wife of Terrence Overholser, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on March 16, 2019.  Dawn was born on December 15, 1945 in New London, CT, to the late Howard and Genevieve Pendleton.  She attended high school at The Morgan School in Clinton, CT and David Starr Jordan in Long Beach, CA.  Dawn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hunter College in New York City with a B.S. degree in Sociology after living 14 years abroad to support her husband’s career and children’s education in Bangkok, London and Madrid.  She received her MSW a year later and her CSW license as an adoption social worker when she joined the Family & Children’s Agency in Norwalk, CT., where she worked for 16 years before retiring in December 2016. 

While abroad Dawn volunteered at orphanages and hospices, completed an Art History certificate at The Art Institute of London, became an accomplished calligrapher, and was a critic for an art publication in Spain.  After returning to New York and getting her degrees, she taught herself to paint and completed some portraits that will be valued in the family for generations to come.  Her passion for helping parents through the cumbersome and often disappointing process of adoption was appreciated by all her clients.  She was a loyal and supportive wife, a fiercely protective mother and grandmother with strong Christian values, and a highly competent and efficient professional who genuinely cared for others.  Her quick wit and sense of humor will likewise never be forgotten.

She is survived by her husband Terry, her two daughters, Kimberly Nelson and Heather Overholser Berchem, her son-in-law Jon Berchem, and 5 grandchildren—Brady Foster, Devyn Foster, Cameron Nelson, Aidan Berchem and Jack Berchem—and her sisters Marilyn Kingsland and Deborah Hackett.

Family and friends are invited to call on Saturday, March 23, 2019 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the CODY-WHITE FUNERAL HOME, 107 Broad St., Milford, CT.  A Funeral Service will commence at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be private.

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